On February 20, 2017, the Jean Bouin stand in the Vélodrome is called "Parvis René Dufaure de Montmirail." René Dufaure de Montmirail is the illustrious founder of Olympique de Marseille; a historical person without whom OM would not have emerged.
FROM KABYLIA TO MARSEILLE
Born on February 8, 1876, in Verdun, René Dufaure de Montmirail grew up in Algeria where his father Charles ran the military district of Blida. Already passionate about sport, he practiced fencing, horse riding and athletics and Algerian studies where he was baptized in 1877. A vision problem prevented him from continuing the military tradition of his family.
After obtaining his baccalaureate, he left the Kabylia region and settled in Marseilles at the age of 18 to devote himself to brokerage and insurance. He worked at the business house Marius Jullien and lived in Belsunce. He practiced football with the sons of his boss with whom he sympathizes, within the Junior Club, the ancestors of the Football Club of Marseille, a team that brings together high schools and high school students.
On November 15, 1898, René Dufaure de Montmirail created the Regional Committee of the Union of French Athletic Sport Societies at the age of 22 (USFSA). He revolutionizes the practice of sport in the region by organizing competitions of rugby, football, athletics, cricket ... He is also a member of the Nautical Society, Touring clubs of France and Provence and the Football Club Aixois.
November 15, 1898
Founded in 1899, Olympique Marseille knows its first president in the person of René Dufaure de Montmirail. He really identifies with Olympique de Marseille. The logo of the new club resembles the graphics of the personal stamp of the founder of the club (initials D and M). The D becomes an O to form the O and the M of the initials "OM". René Dufaure de Montmirail presided over the club for two years, from 1900 to 1902, before passing the torch to his vice-president, Arnold Bideleux.
He married Madeleine Dubois in 1901, a woman previously met at the Football Club of Marseille, with whom he will have six children. It is also his wife to whom OM owes the motto "Right to the Goal." After his presidency, the founder of Olympique de Marseille created the insurance firm Montmirail in Marseille, still active in the 16th arrondissement. Mobilized in 1914, he died in 1917 at just 4- years-old. Enough to leave a very important place in the history of Olympique Marseille. His descendants, including Valeilles de Montmirail, his great-grandson, still live in Marseille.
